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6 - Macroeconomic trends in the Lower Mekong BasinViet Nam is moving towards a more open,market-oriented economy. Yet state-ownedenterprises (SOEs) are still dominating inmore capital-intensive industries such as oiland gas, and internal economic reformsdesigned to improve the businessenvironment are still slow in coming. 35Without these reforms, it will be difficultfor the country to return to the growth ratesof the 1990s.LMB countries, particularly Cambodia and Viet Nam,suffer significant losses in high flood years1.5 ThailandThailand’s economy is qualitatively andquantitatively different from those ofCambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. Percapita GDP is around $2000 (at 2001prices), 36 equivalent to about $6300 inpurchasing power parity. 37 Annual growthhas recovered from the 1997 financial crisisand has stayed above 4 percent since 1999. 38Population growth is merely 0.9 percent. Theproportion of the population living in povertyis about 15 percent. Poverty has increasedsince the financial crisis; in 1996, the povertypercentage was down to 11 percent. 39 Eventhough average incomes are still below precrisislevels, Thailand’s economy hasdefinitely moved into another league whencompared with those of fellow countries inthe LMB.The higher level of economic developmentis reflected in agriculture’s low share of GDP.According to ADB data from 2002, less than10 percent of Thailand’s GDP is generatedby agricultural production (see Figure 4). TheFigure 4.Sector share of employment andGDP, ThailandNote: Employment information reflects available data formost recent years 1997-2000. Agriculture includes forestyand fisheries.Source for employment: ESCAP. 2002.Sources for GDP: ADB. 2002. Asian DevelopmentOutlook 2002. ADB. 2001. Country Strategy Programs.IMF. 2002. Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix.IMF.2002. Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix.industry and service sectors each contribute around 45 percent of GDP. 40 Agriculture employs around50 percent of the labour force, industry employs nearly 15 percent and the service sector more than30 percent.Thailand is one of the world’s major producers of agricultural and agro-industrial products, andthe country is sometimes referred to as a ‘newly agro-industrialised’ country. The country’s firstwave of sustained economic growth in the 1980s was largely due to success in agricultural andagri-industrial production. Today, Thailand is the world’s rice trade centre and, as an example, theworld’s largest exporter of canned pineapple.91